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US-based H2-Industries, the promoter of the world’s first waste to hydrogen plant in Egypt, is currently preparing the first agreements for hydrogen supply starting from 2025, its Chief Executive Officer told Zawya Projects in an exclusive.
Michael Stusch said: “Clean hydrogen from our waste-to-hydrogen process will be very competitively priced and hence the focus at the moment is to talk to potential off-takers directly”.
In an earlier interview to Zawya Projects, Stusch said the company's projects in Egypt and Oman could produce green hydrogen at the cost of $2-$3 per kilogramme (kg) by 2026 and at less than $1 per kg by 2030. International Energy Agency (IEA) pegs the current cost of renewable hydrogen at $3-$8 per kg.
Clarity on offtake
He said producers, suppliers and potential off takers are starting to enter into preliminary agreements to secure volumes as the projected global demand for clean hydrogen in the years to come is far bigger than the projected supply capacity.
“As large industrial off-takers and utility companies prepare their energy transition plans, discussions on hydrogen off-take have become more specific,” he said.
“It appears to be an interesting approach specially to bridge the gap between production costs and competitive offtake price in the next 5-10 years.”
He said the current offtake discussions are focussed on exports though the company is open to potential local buyers.
“Most of the discussions currently involve export of hydrogen using our Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology. Interested parties are large industrial production companies with a large demand for energy, utility companies and the fuel industry.”
He claimed LOHC is currently “the most simple, safe and effective way to store, transport and release large quantities of hydrogen or electricity in an environmentally friendly, harmless way, and is ideal for long distance transport and decentralised distribution”.
Projects schedule
Stusch confirmed that the projects in Egypt and Oman are moving ahead according to schedule and discussions with financing and technical partners for project execution are underway.
“We are currently in the process of conducting the required studies, including full feasibility studies” he said.
H2-Industries is currently studying a 1-gigawatt LOHC Hydrogen Hub in East Port Said, Egypt costing $4 billion and a waste to hydrogen facility with Madayn in Oman costing $1.4 billion.
(Reporting by Sowmya Sundar; Editing by Anoop Menon)
